How To Make a Lasagna Garden

A lasagna garden is an alternative and easier way to develop a garden plot without digging in soil. You even need not pull out the grass on the spot where you want your lasagna garden. It is also called "sheet composting", since the process is similar to that of making a lasagna dish - layer by layer. These are the simple steps you need to follow:

1. Prepare your materials. You will need old newspapers, shredded scrap papers, corrugated card boards, compost, kitchen waste, and dried leaves. You may also use gloves to protect your hands, a garden rake and a hand shovel.
2. On the spot where you will build your lasagna garden, place three layers of newspapers or a corrugated card board. You need not pull the weeds or rake the area. You may step on the card board to level the new ground, and wet the area so it will start decomposing. The weeds underneath will also decompose since it is totally covered and the weight of the layers will prevent it from growing further.
3. Start the layering process. Everything that goes to the compost pile will now be placed in the lasagna garden. Place green compost materials from the kitchen and plant trimmings, and brown compost such as dried leaves, papers and pine needles, alternately. Do this until the pile is around two feet high. It will eventually flatten down when the compost decomposes into soil.
4. When the lasagna garden is ready, you can start planting by digging in the soil, nothing extra ordinary. Add more compost on top on a regular basis, preferably dry leaves, straw or grass clippings. Save the kitchen waste for another lasagna garden. When weeds start appearing, pull these out and care for your lasagna garden as you would any other garden.

Scheduling the time of making a lasagna garden is also important. It is best to make one during autumn, so all the fallen leaves go to the lasagna garden. By winter, the lasagna garden will break down and decompose, and will not have any effect on your holiday schedule. When spring comes, your lasagna garden will be ready for planting.  (If you decide to make a lasagna garden in spring, then you will need to use some top soil along with the compost so you can start planting immediately.)

Maintaining a lasagna garden is more advantageous than an ordinary plot, since there are fewer weeds that grow in it, because the card board at the bottom layer prevents the weeds from penetrating the plot. This type of garden also holds more water longer because it is primarily made of compost, which is also nutritious for plants, which means adding fertilizers may no longer be necessary. The lasagna garden also has loose soil, which makes it easier to plant in.

Another advantage of lasagna gardening is that your kitchen waste and other organic waste is used and maximized, instead of adding to the community waste that the garbage collector takes. Animal manure and other wastes also find its way to the lasagna garden, minimizing the breeding of harmful insects.